You May Think You Don't Need Love, But You Do
by schemingfaeries28
Summary: Nate Gray thinks that he has given up on love, so when he meets Tori, he doesn't feel any attraction to her. But she feels very different. Will Tori be able to change Nate's mind, or will she never get to be with him?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! It's me with a new story, since my teacher changed her mind and said we had to write _two _stories instead of just one. I've decided to do a Nate story, because my other one is about Shane.**

**Read and review!**

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Nate felt like he was about to explode. When was Shane going to stop being so annoying? He kept singing these stupid songs about how awesome he thought he was. Nate felt like punching him in the face. Well, he wouldn't do that, his mom would be mad at him. But he was definitely furiously annoyed with Shane.

"Shane, shut-up!" yelled Nate, "You're being so annoying!"

Shane didn't even hear him, he was talking that loudly. Everyone thought that he had a beautiful voice, but right now, Nate would rather be listening to the Osbournes.

Nate didn't know why he was so easily irritated today. He guessed that he had just been feeling down. Or lonely. Yes, he might have been feeling a teensy-bit lonely ever since his girlfriend, Alyson had broken up with him because she was tired of girl "throwing themselves" at him. Hey, those were her words, not his.

Shane and Jason had kept telling him that she wasn't worth it, and that if she couldn't ignore the girls for him, she didn't really like him. But Nate had been devastated. He had really thought that he had been in love with Alyson. That was the problem with him, he fell in love way too quickly.

Nate decided that he would have to end that problem. From now on, he wouldn't fall in love with anyone. He didn't think his poor heart could take it. Yes, that sounded corny, but it was true. He just didn't think he could afford to fall in love again, and then get his heart broken. Maybe he would be better off being single. He didn't have to have a girlfriend, or even get married.

Now that he had made his decision, Nate felt a lot better. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. He could finally relax, and forget about Alyson, and Miley, and Selena, and Demi...

Jeez, the list seemed to go on forever. How many girls had he dated? Why hadn't he made this decision before? The answer was simple. He had never been so much in love before. He had really, truly been deeply in love with Alyson Stoner.

"DJ Danja will make all of the ladies happy!" crooned Shane, distracting Nate from his thoughts.

Nate shook his head, and left the living room to find Jason.

Jason was sitting on the kitchen table, texting madly. It was obvious as to who he was texting. His fiance, Tara. Yes, Jason Gray was finally getting married. It was about time too, their mom had been getting worried that Jason would never propose to Tara. They were getting married in a few months. Nate wasn't sure when, exactly.

"Tell Tara I said hi," said Nate to Jason, who merely nodded, too immersed in his texting.

Nate rolled his eyes. Jason and Tara were a little obsessed with each other. They couldn't go even a few minutes without seeing, texting, or talking to one-another. It did get annoying sometimes.

Anyone could tell that Jason was completely in love with Tara, and vice-versa. Nate sighed heavily, wishing that the same thing would happen for him. He immediately erased that thought though, remembering the oath he had made to himself.

"Nate, honey?" called a voice softly, "Can you come in here for a minute?"

Nate smiled to himself. He was always happy to talk to his grandmother. He felt like she was the only person that really understood him. He could tell her absolutely anything. Well, he wasn't really planning on telling her about his newly-made decision. He didn't know how she would take it. She was a strong believer of true love.

Nate walked into his grandmother's bedroom, which was on the first floor. He had always loved this room. The walls were painted a pale green, and everything else in the room was in different shades of green. Above all, he loved the smell that always recided his grandma's room. It smelled like strawberries; the sweetest strawberries in the whole world.

"Yeah, Grandma?" asked Nate, sitting on his grandma's bed.

"I heard you broke-up with your girlfriend. What was her name... Selena?" asked his grandma slyly.

"Alyson," mumbled Nate. He wasn't very comfortable talking about her, even now.

"Oh, yes, Alyson. You've had so many girlfriends, I get their names mixed up," said his grandmother.

Nate rolled his eyes, not really wanting to talk about this particular subject.

"You know, Nate," said his grandma, her eyes twinkling, "Giving up on love can be a very bad idea."

Nate spluttered in disbelief. How had she known? It was creepy the way she could read his mind. He sometimes suspected that she was physic, before remembering that was impossible.

"G-giving up on love? What are you saying, Grandma?" stammered Nate, hoping that she wouldn't notice how much his voice shook.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"How stupid do you think I am?" she asked.

Nate was saved by his mother poking her head into the room, and saying, "Nate, come help me put away these bags of grocery."

Nate quickly got up and left the room, for once extremely glad to leave.

He helped his mother with the groceries as fast as he could, and then went into his father's study to say hello. He had seen his dad all day.

Nate knocked before going in. The study was his second-favorite room in the house. Nate loved to read books, and the study was a haven of books.

His father was at his desk, looking at something on the computer.

Nate cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Nate, hi!" said his dad, turning to face him.

"Hey, Dad," said Nate, not as enthusiastically as he would've a few days ago. Specifically, three days, four hours, and twenty-three minutes. But who was counting?

"I have a surprise for you!" said his father, excitedly.

Nate sighed, and said, "Really? What is it?"

Ever since Alyson had broken up with him, Nate's family had been doing random acts of kindness to make him feel better. It was actually more annoying than mollifying.

"My boss is coming for dinner!" exclaimed his dad.

Nate was bewildered. How was this a surprise for him? Was it supposed to make him feel better? It made him feel worse, he would have to dress-up, and act polite all through dinner.

"Um... that's... nice?" said Nate uncertainly.

"Yeah, isn't it?" said his dad, "Now, Nate, go do something else. I have to get back to work, okay?"

Nate nodded, and his father turned back to the computer.

He left the study, and stood in the foyer, not sure what to do. He had been aimlessly wandering around his house after the break-up happened. He had absolutely nothing to do, and he was perfectly fine with that. It was kind of relaxing, being able to just not do anything. Whenever he was dating a girl, he had to be constantly at her side. Now that he was a free man, he could laze around for all it was worth.

Nate's family thought that he was depressed, but he really wasn't. He had been sad, but now he was over it. Sure, he had loved her, but if she didn't love him, then what was the point?

"DJ Danja is the master of... ranjas!" yelled Shane from the living room, struggling to find a rhyme.

Since he had nothing to do, Nate decided to go out for a walk, just to think about things thoroughly. So he put on his sneakers, and started to walk down the driveway. He didn't bother to tell anyone that he was going out, because no one would really care. They were all to immersed in their own activities.

Miley, Selena, Demi, and Alyson. Four girls who had broken his heart. There were others, of course, but those were the four that he had loved the most. He couldn't help wondering whether there was something wrong with him. Why had they all suddenly broken up with him? Yeah, random girls threw themselves at him, but couldn't they overlook that?

Apparently, they couldn't. Why did girls always have to get so jealous? He had never felt jealous before, even though a lot of guys had thought that his ex-girlfriends were hot. Why was that?

Maybe it was because he hadn't loved them as much as he thought he had. But that was ridiculous. Of course he had loved them. Right? The truth was, he didn't really know. He felt so confused. He didn't know what to think.

Nate realized that all of this confusion could have been avoided if he had avoided girls from the start. Well, it would all be good now. His life was now simple, because he wasn't going to deal with girls anymore. He was done for good. Jason had found someone like Tara, but Nate wasn't going to find anyone. He wasn't going to find anyone, because he wasn't going to search.

He was going to stop thinking about girls completely. Everyone said that it was impossible to beat hormones, but he was going to prove them wrong, and make it possible. He was going to be single for the rest of his life, and nothing could change his mind.

Nate was distracted by his phone vibrating.

"Hello?" he asked, running his free hand through his hair.

"Nate! Get back home this second! Dad's boss is here!"

It was Jason. Nate started to freak out.

"What! Why didn't anyone warn me he was coming?" asked Nate.

"You idiot! Dad told right before you left to go to... wherever you left to go to!"

As the memory came flooding back into Nate's mind, he slapped himself on the head. That was not the best idea, because he dropped his phone.

"Damn."

He picked it up, hoping it wasn't broken. Nate seriously began to think that the world was against him, because, of course, the phone was damaged beyond repair. He would have to get a new one, and he didn't know how his parents would react to that.

Nate ran as fast as he could towards his house. When he got there, he could see a black BMW parked on the driveway. That was probably his father's boss' car.

He sprinted to the door, and rang the doorbell. He didn't want to ring it too many times, in case his dad's boss thought he was rude. Although, it was probably too late anyways.

Shane answered the door. He was wearing a tuxedo, something he hated to do. It took a lot to convince Shane to wear a tuxedo.

"Dude, where have you been?" asked Shane.

Without waiting for an answer, Shane pulled Nate into the house, and shivvied him up the stairs, saying, "Quick! Go get changed!"

Nate ran into his room, and pulled open his closet door. He frantically searched for his tuxedo. When he found it, he put it on as fast as he could, but tried not to wrinkle it. It wasn't easy.

It was only until after Nate had left his room, that he remember he didn't have his tie on. So he rushed back inside to find his tie. He realized that the fact that he didn't know how to wear a tie would pose as a slight problem.

Nate went downstairs anyways, hoping that his mom was in the kitchen alone, so that he could ask her to help him with the infernal tie.

Nate was not having a lucky day, because his mother was sitting in the living room, talking to his father's boss' wife about something. He would have to catch her attention somehow, without anyone else noticing.

Nate waved his arms around, indicating that he needed her help, but she was too immersed with her conversation to notice.

Nate groaned in disbelief. Why couldn't she just look in his direction?

"Um... hi?" said a voice from behind him.

Nate whipped around, almost hitting the person with his tie.

It was a girl who looked about his age. He assumed that she was his dad's boss' daughter. She was looking at him as if he were crazy, and he couldn't blame her. He probably had been acting like an idiot.

"You're Nate Gray!" she exclaimed.

Nate sighed heavily. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with some fan-girl.

"I'm Tori," she said.

He faked a smile, trying to look excited to meet her.

"Do you need help with your tie?" she asked kindly.

He started in surprise. He was not expecting her to ask that. He didn't have any other choice, so he said, "Please."

She took the tie from him, and tied it around his neck. It was weird how girls always knew how to tie ties.

"Thanks," said Nate, gratefully. And he was grateful. She had just saved his butt. "Is there anything I can do for you?" He felt like he owed her something.

She grinned, and said, "No, I'm fine. But you might want to check your zipper."

Nate immediately looked down at his fly, but it was zipped up.

Tori burst out into little giggles. She walked past him and into the living room.

Nate couldn't help but crack a smile himself. It was the first time that he had really smiled in days.

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**Did you like it? Review, and tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Start reviewing, guys! Please, my grade in school depends on it. This is actually for a project, so read and REVIEW! Don't just alert and fave it.**

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Tori sat down on the couch next to her father, who was talking to Mr. Gray about something in the office that was going wrong. She didn't really understand what. Not that she was trying to understand; her main focus right now was Nate Gray, who had just walked into the room.

"Mr. Watkins, this is my other son, Nate, who was supposed to be here a long time ago," introduced Mr. Gray.

Nate murmured something very quietly, and looked down at his feet. Tori couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The poor guy had just broken up with his girlfriend. It was all over the news, and the rumors said that Nate had been devestated. Tori had actually felt happy. She didn't think that Alyson Stoner was a very nice girl, and that she didn't deserve Nate.

"Why don't you sit down, Nate?" asked Tori's father, in a voice that sounded amused to Tori. She quickly glanced at him, and saw that his the corners of mouth were twitching. That was a good sign, it meant that he liked Nate.

Nate sat down in the only empty place left, right next to Tori. She could smell his cologne, and she liked it. She leaned a little closer to get a better scent. She didn't think that she had smelled anything that had attracted her more in her life. What type of cologne did he use? She couldn't put her finger on it.

Nate scooted a little away from her, and she looked up at him in embarrasment. He was looking straight ahead. She shook her head in horror. Great, Nate Gray thought that she was a freak. What else could go wrong?

"Tori would love that, wouldn't you Tori?" asked her father.

Tori started, and said, "Sorry, what?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Gray just invited you to join the boys on tour," said her father.

Join Connect Three on tour! Of course she would love that! But how could she go when Nate thought that she was mentally deficient? She was going to have to say no. She didn't want to make an even bigger fool of herself in front of him, because she really liked him.

On the other hand, if she went on tour with the band, she would have a chance to redeem herself in his eyes. Plus, she really wanted to go. This was something that she could brag to her friends about, they would be so jealous.

Tori realized that everyone was waiting on her answer, so she said, "I'd love to, but I really would like some time to think about it."

She saw the whole Gray family, including Nate, look at each other in confusion. She smiled to herself. They had probably been expecting her to say yes immediately.

"Are you sure, Tori?" asked her dad.

Tori nodded confidently, and she saw Nate's face become even more bewildered. She smiled to herself even more, this was fun.

"Nate, why don't you give Victoria a tour of the house?" asked Mrs. Gray.

Nate got up, reluctantly, in Tori's opinion, and waited politely for her. She realized that she had no other choice, so she followed him out of the room, and up the stairs.

"There's really nothing much upstairs, just our bedrooms and the gameroom," said Nate quietly.

Tori started to get a little irritated. Why was he acting like this? Most guys fell for her immediately. Why not the one she actually wanted?

"Do you dislike me or something?" blurted out Tori.

Nate looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"Do you dislike me?" asked Tori again.

"Why would you think that, I don't even know you," said Nate.

"You've been acting strange towards me," accused Tori.

Apparently, Nate didn't like to be accused, because he said, "What is your problem?"

"I could ask you the same question," said Tori calmly.

"You know what?" asked Nate angrily.

"What?"

"You're just some crazt fan-girl who thinks that I'll fall in love with you. Well, think again."

Tori face contorted in fury. How dare he talk to her like that. She could have any guy she wanted. And she didn't want him, now that she knew what kind of a person he was. "You are despicable."

"I could say the same thing to you," said Nate rudely.

"And I could get your father fired," threatened Tori.

Nate's face became even more angry, if that was even possible. "Why don't you just try? My dad could get job anywhere, he doesn't need your dad's stupid company."

Tori face started to turn red, she could feel it. "I hate you!"

"The feeling is mutual." Nate glared at her.

Tori could feel tears prick her eyes. No, she couldn't cry now. That would show him that she was weak. She couldn't let him think that. She didn't know why she had liked him so much before. He was the last guy that she would date now. She hated him with a passion. Her insides were boiling with hate.

She decided that she would go on tour with Connect Three, just to annoy Nate Gray. She would drive him crazy during the tour. She would make him wish that he were never born. Tori could be very mean when she wanted to, and right now, she wanted to more than anything.

"Hey, guys!" Shane Gray entered the room.

Tori and Nate stopped glaring at each other, and tried to look like they were having a great time.

"It's so boring down there, so I decided that I would come and see what you two are doing," said Shane cheerfully.

Tori faked a smile, and she must have been a very good faker, because Shane winked at her flirtily. She almost rolled her eyes. She had no interest in Shane. She looked over at Nate, who, for some reason, was glaring at Shane. Now, why would that be?

"So, Tori," began Shane, "Your dad told us that you love Connect Three."

Tori made a mental note to kill her dad later.

"Who's your favorite?" asked Shane bluntly.

Tori started to turn red again. She couldn't tell Nate that he used to be her favorite. She didn't want to give Shane the wrong idea by telling him he was her favorite either, so she said, very quietly, "Jason."

"Jason!" exclaimed Shane. Nate didn't say anything, he just looked down at his feet again. "Well, let's see if can't change that, shall we?" said Shane, winking at Tori again. For the second time, she resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.

"Have you decided whether you're coming on tour with us or not?" asked Shane.

Tori decided to tell him the truth, so she said, "Actually, I have. And I think that it's a great oppurtunity to get to know you guys better."

Shane flashed Tori a smile, showing his perfect teeth. He was such a flirt. Nate, on the other hand, looked at Tori with an angry and confused look in his eyes. Tori merely smirked at him, therefore making him look away quickly.

Tori heard someone come up the stairs. It was Jason, who poked his head into the room, and said, "Guys, dinner is ready." He saw Tori, and said, "Hi, I'm Jason."

Tori smiled at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nate and Shane glare at Jason. This made her feel confused. She could understand why Shane was angry. He was jealous. But Nate? Why was he so mad? Usually, she was a master at reading guys, but Nate Gray posed as a real challenge.

"Guys," said Jason, breaking the awkward silence, "Dinner?"

"Oh, right," said Nate, and he left the room, closely followed by Jason. Shane motioned for Tori to go before him, and she did. He followed closely behind.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked Shane slyly, as they descended the stairs.

Tori felt like she was resisting rolling her eyes a lot lately. "No."

Shane grinned triumphantly, as if he had just won a great prize. Tori walked into the dining room, where everyone else was already sitting at the table. There were two seats open, and she took the one next to Nate. She used her peripheral vision to see his reaction, and saw that he looked completely bewildered. She smirked at him, and then looked across the table at Shane, who was looking very grumpy.

As the grown-ups started to talk about the stock market, and things like that, Tori decided that she would use her time to annoy Nate some more.

"So, Nate, I heard that your girlfriend broke-up with you."

Nate's hands curled into fists, and he looked straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard her. Tori grinned, and saw that Jason and Shane were looking at her questioningly. She shrugged at them, and started to eat her food.

"Tori's coming on tour with us, Mom," informed Shane.

"That's great! Tori, we leave in three days, so you might want to start getting ready," said Mrs. Gray kindly.

Tori smiled at her, and said, "Okay. Thank-you so much for having me."

Nate snorted into his food, and Tori glared at him. It was now his turn to smirk at her. She took her eyes off of him, and looked at Shane instead, who was eating his food so fast that it looked like a blur to Tori. It was disgusting to watch. She sighed, and resumed eating her own chicken salad. This was going to be a very interesting dinner.

"Nate, honey, could you go get the cake from the kitchen?" asked Mrs. Gray.

Nate nodded and got up. He looked relieved to have an excuse to leave the table. Tori suddenly had an idea, and said, "I'll go help Nate with the cake, Mrs. Gray."

"Oh, no, that's alright dear."

"No, I'd love to help," she persisted, and got up to follow Nate into the kitchen.

As Tori left, she heard Mrs. Gray say, "You boys should learn to be helpful, like Tori."

Nate was already in the kitchen, about to pick up the cake.

"Here, let me help you with that," offered Tori.

Nate glared at her, and said, "I don't need your help."

Tori glared right back at him. They were having a staring contest, which went on for a few minutes, until Nate finally looked away. Tori smirked at him triumph. He didn't say anything.

"Look," began Tori, "I don't even know why we're fighting. I guess we're both acting like idiots. I just want to be friends."

She waited patiently for his answer.

He looked unsure for a moment, and then he smiled. "I do too. I'm sorry for the way I acted."

He sounded so innocent and sincere. Tori couldn't help but grin at him. He grinned back at her.

"Well, this had been an interesting night," said Tori, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, and Shane seems to like you a lot," said Nate, wriggling his eyebrows. Tori walked up to him, and punched him in the arm playfully. He opened his mouth in mock surprise. "I thought we were friends now," he pouted, turning away from her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Natey," she said, soothingly.

"Natey?" he mocked.

"Yeah, Natey. You got a problem with that?" she asked.

"Actually, I do," he challenged.

"Oh, it's on, Gray."

"Yeah, it is," said Nate walking closer and closer towards her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, for the first time, a little afraid.

They were rudely interrupted by Shane, who poked his head in the door. When he saw how close he were, his face showed suspicion. Nate and Tori quickly moved further apart.

"What's taking you guys so long?" asked Shane, scrutinizing their faces suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Tori and Nate, simultaneously. They grinned at each other.

Tori felt so happy inside. She had Nate Gray as a friend. He might even become something more, or so she hoped. But right now, she was content with just friendship.


End file.
